From Shelled Ethiopian City, Doctors Tally Deaths and Plead for Help

Friday, 04 December 2020 11:38 Written by Eritrea Hub

DECEMBER 4, 2020 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS

“Ethiopia’s prime minister promised a swift, surgical military campaign in the restive province of Tigray. But doctors in the regional capital reported civilian deaths, looting and a looming crisis.”

Source: New York Times

From Shelled Ethiopian City, Doctors Tally Deaths and Plead for Help

Ethiopia’s prime minister promised a swift, surgical military campaign in the restive province of Tigray. But doctors in the regional capital reported civilian deaths, looting and a looming crisis.

Credit…Eduardo Soteras/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By Simon Marks and Declan Walsh

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — After Ethiopian military forces captured the capital of the rebellious Tigray region last weekend, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed boasted that his forces had scored the victory without killing a single civilian.

But doctors at the city’s main hospital reached on Thursday painted a very different picture — indiscriminate artillery barrages on civilian areas, looting by armed men and the deaths of at least 27 civilians and injuries to more than 100.

Their testimony offered a rare glimpse of the increasingly dire conditions in a city that has been largely cut off from the outside world since Mr. Abiy launched a military operation against Tigray on Nov. 4.

On Saturday, Mr. Abiy — the winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize — declared victory after his forces seized the regional capital, Mekelle, a highland city of 500,000 people that until recently was the seat of the region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

Two days later, on Monday, Mr. Abiy proclaimed to Ethiopia’s Parliament that federal forces had not killed a single civilian during a month of fighting in Tigray.

But phone and internet connections to Tigray have been largely cut off, making it hard to verify competing claims by the belligerents. And it quickly became apparent that Mr. Abiy’s assertion of victory was premature.

Tigrayan forces said they had retreated from Mekelle to avoid destroying the city and would continue to fight from the surrounding rural areas — a first step of what could eventually become a drawn-out guerrilla campaign.

Image

Credit…Eduardo Soteras/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

In separate interviews, two doctors at the region’s largest hospital, the Ayder Referral Hospital, insisted that Mr. Abiy’s gains had been far from bloodless.

A rain of shellfire on Saturday morning, in the hours before federal troops captured Mekelle, landed on civilian as well as military targets, the doctors said. Ambulances rushed through the streets carrying the dead and wounded. By evening, at least 27 civilians had been killed, including a 4-year-old, and over 100 wounded, they said.

The doctors, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals from the government, sent text messages and spoke using a rare connection to the internet in the city.

They provided copies of identity cards and other documents to prove their employment at the hospital, and denied any affiliation with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

One provided photos of wounded patients at the hospital who, he said, had been hit in the bombardment — infants with shrapnel-pocked bodies, a man with a bloodied head, a woman lying prone with her leg in plaster.

Now a tense calm reigns in the city, the doctors said. The electricity had been cut off, swaddling the city in darkness at night. Armed men had looted stores, forcing many to close.

At the Ayder Hospital, dire shortages of oxygen and basic medical supplies have made it impossible to perform lifesaving surgery on the wounded. The doctors pleaded for international help to relieve what they called a critical situation.

On Sunday, Red Cross officials visiting the hospital reported it was “running dangerously low” on gloves, antibiotics, painkillers — and body bags.

At least 80 percent of patients at the hospital suffered trauma injuries, the Red Cross said, but declined to specify the number of patients who had been admitted. On Thursday a Red Cross spokeswoman declined to provide further details.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Abiy did not respond to queries about the disparity between his claims of no civilian casualties and the accounts from the hospital.

Mr. Abiy’s decision to launch military operations in Tigray, a northern region of at least six million people, was the dramatic culmination of a simmering political row with Tigray’s ruling party. The T.P.L.F. dominated Ethiopia for 27 years until Mr. Abiy came to power in 2018, and its leaders openly defied his authority in September by holding regional elections, which had been postponed in the rest of Ethiopia because of the pandemic.

"Tigrayans who have fled the conflict in Ethiopia seeking shelter at a camp in Qadarif in eastern Sudan." data-recalc-dims="1" style="box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto;">

Credit…Nariman El-Mofty/Associated Press

The communication blackout has made it hard to judge the scale of the fighting. But by most estimates by Western diplomats and aid workers, thousands of civilians and fighters have been killed, stoking fears that Africa’s second-most populous country is plunging headlong into a ruinous civil war.

The situation in Mekelle is just one element in a ballooning humanitarian crisis.

At least 45,000 Ethiopians have fled Tigray into eastern Sudan, where many live in squalid camps with limited food and water. Aid groups warn that another 100,000 refugees may follow in the next six months if fighting continues.

Even before hostilities erupted last month, 600,000 people in Tigray depended on food aid to survive. Aid workers say that supplies are running out for almost 100,000 refugees from Eritrea who live in camps in Tigray, having fled repression in their own country.

On Wednesday the United Nations said it had secured an agreement with the Ethiopian authorities to provide “unimpeded, sustained and secure access” for the delivery of emergency relief to government-controlled parts of Tigray.

Ethiopia’s state telecommunication company said Wednesday it had partly restored communications in several military-controlled towns in western Tigray. But the fragile security situation is likely to frustrate aid efforts.

On Thursday a United Nations spokesman in Nairobi expressed “extreme concern” about a report that four Ethiopians working for two international aid agencies had been killed in Tigray in unclear circumstances.

In Mekelle, the two doctors said the situation had become tense in recent days.

Bands of young men in civilian clothes roamed the streets. Many roads were blocked with large stones. There was a heavy presence of federal security forces.

Simon Marks reported from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Declan Walsh from Nairobi, Kenya.

Mesfin Hagos: Eritrea’s Role in Ethiopia’s Conflict and the Fate of Eritrean Refugees

Thursday, 03 December 2020 22:12 Written by Eritrea Hub

DECEMBER 3, 2020 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS

Eritrea’s Role in Ethiopia’s Conflict and the Fate of Eritrean Refugees in Ethiopia

BY: Mesfin Hagos, former Minister of Defense of Eritrea

In an address to his country’s parliament on November 30, 2020, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister confirmed Eritrean support to his ongoing war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional government of the northernly regional state of Tigray. Dr. Abiy told parliamentarians that Ethiopian soldiers who survived TPLF attack on the night of November 3 were ordered to withdraw into Eritrea where they were provided shelter and the space and provisions to recuperate. He flew there with three of his generals to reorganize the troops for a counterattack on Tigray – from Eritrea.

What Prime Minister Abiy did not tell his audience was the fact that, according to sources in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, in the run up to the current conflict, a large number of Ethiopian elite units had slowly trickled into Eritrea as part of a security pact between Abiy and Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki. Hidden from public view at an ad-hoc base in Gherghera, in the outskirts of Asmara, these units were expected to be the hammer and the Northern Command the anvil to strike out of existence the TPLF. TPLF preempted this scheme in what it called “anticipatory defense”, which forced both Abiy and Isaias to improvise leading to the eruption of conflict over longer time period and vast space.

Dr. Abiy did not disclose to the Ethiopian public and international community that even more federal troops were airlifted into Eritrea following the outbreak of conflict on November 4. In the 48 hours before TPLF’s bombing of Asmara on November 14, local sources counted close to 30 military airplanes flying in thousands of soldiers from Ethiopia. Subsequent flights transported more soldiers into the Eritrean seaports of Massawa and Asseb.

The prime minister also hid from the world the Eritrean military’s direct involvement in combat along the entire border that Eritrea shares with Tigray regional state as well as inside Tigray. The following information is pieced together from three different sources: first, reliable sources inside the Eritrean ministry of defense; second, Eritrean opposition intelligence sources in Sudan and Ethiopia; and finally, anecdotal pieces communicated from friends and relatives, including some academic researchers.

When the reorganized and reinforced Ethiopian troops launched a series of offensives into Tigray from Eritrea along four frontlines, Eritrean support units provided intelligence and logistics, their heavy weapons gave cover to advancing federal troops, and eventually took active part in combat. Reliable sources have confirmed injury and death of a large number of Eritrean soldiers, including senior officers, in fighting deep inside Ethiopia.

Through Zalambessa alone, the Eritrean president sent in the 42^nd and 49^th mechanized divisions and the 11^th, 17^th, 19^th and 27^th infantry divisions. On reaching Edaga-Hamus, south of Adigrat and north of Mekelle, these divisions were reinforced with addition five Eritrean divisions, including the 2^nd brigade of the 525^th commando division. He also unleashed the 26^th, 28^th, and 53^rd infantry and 46^th and 48^th mechanized divisions on the Adwa front along with only one division of the Ethiopian federal army. In addition, the TPLF claims that Eritrean technical and combat units also took active part in the Alamata front, southeast of Mekelle. The same TPLF sources also claim that they have Eritrean prisoners of war although they are yet to present them to the public – live or in recordings.

Although Eritrean army divisions have been shrinking in size in the past twenty years and their individual capacities shriveled, put together they are a formidable force. Their combined technical knowhow (intelligence and weaponry) as well as tactics and strategy expertise and experience can deliver blistering firepower against any adversary.

Either approving of or oblivious to President Isaias’ role in the planning, initiation and execution of the ongoing Ethiopian civil war, the international community commended his uncharacteristic silence in the fact of repeated TPLF rocket attacks on Eritrean towns. Abiy Ahmed’s complete media and communication blackout ensured that Eritrea’ intervention remained above scrutiny and censure.

Exacting Vengeance and Becoming Regional Strongman

Beside the Eritrean president’s delusions of grandeur and parallel desire to appear as regional strongman in the Horn of Africa and beyond, one has to look at the past two decades to understand his vindictiveness. During the 1998-2000 conflict against TPLF-led Ethiopia, Isaias Afwerki refused to listen to our colleagues’ warnings against going to war; and, when he did, he refused to listen to common sense and practical advice from former army and intelligence chiefs, each of whom had had far more combat leadership experience than himself – although he had overall command as the leader of the movement and government. As a result, he badly mismanaged the war and lost terribly, with grave consequences to Eritrea and Eritreans. The stubborn that he is, he dug in and stayed the course of regional confrontation for the subsequent twenty years that cost him dearly.

President Isaias ruthlessly held on to power and kept Eritrea on war footing, frustrating any prospect of recovery or normalcy. With every year that went by, his significance diminished and his legacy tarnished. He blamed the TPLF for all this and did everything in his power to make them pay for it. He saw his own vindication in TPLF’s demise and every case of TPLF domestic repression and external belligerence was an opportunity for him until Dr. Abiy came to power and outdid Isaias in that task. The unlikely bond between the dashing new prime minister and the aging president is a marriage of convenience that centered around the singular goal of liquidating the TPLF. I will spare the details of what followed and led to November 4, but the writing was on the wall: a conflict war inevitable.

Caught in a Jam – Desperation of Eritrean refugees in Tigray

In the past two decades of President Isaias’s unbridled repression, some half million Eritrean youth, elderly and unaccompanied minors fled their country. In the context of the conflict between the two countries, Ethiopia readily accepted those fleeing Eritrea and, with the help of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), housed them in some six refugee camps in Tigray and Afar regional states. As a sign of what was to come, in April 2020 Abiy Ahmed’s government changed its policy toward Eritrean refugees on the behest of the Eritrean president: newly arrived Eritreans were no longer granted automatic protection as refugees, although the Tigray regional government continued to accept them and let them stay unmolested.

When the current conflict broke out, there were close to 100,000 officially registered refugees in the four camps in Tigray alone and many thousands more in Tigrayan towns. While the refugees in the Afar region of Ethiopia have all along been in precarious conditions, those in Tigray were suddenly caught in the crossfire when the conflict broke out. It was first rumored that several refugees were either killed or wounded in the fighting close to their camps around the town of Shire. The fact that UNHCR personnel were ordered to leave Tigray and employees of Ethiopian federal government’s Agency for Refugee & Returnee Affairs (ARRA) simply did not show up left the camps unattended to. The total communications blackout made it impossible to find out what exactly was going on in the camps. But as the war dragged on, we are able to piece together the grave danger that the refugees are facing.

To begin with, all the camps have now run out of the measly supplies of basic necessities that they were left with. Source have also reported that the Eritrean military entered some of those camps and marched an unknown number of refugees out of camp at gun point. The Shimelba refugee camp is even reported to be under the control of the Eritrean military that is preparing to send a large number of them back to Eritrea. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said on November 29 that he was very concerned about the fate of the Eritrean refugees in the war zone amid reports that some have been abducted by the Asmara government, a regime that has absolutely no regard for international norms or opinion.

A way forward

The Ethiopian government is duty bound under international law to protect refugees. It is the duty of the international community to ensure that the Ethiopian government, as the host state, abides by its international obligations in this regard. A clear, timely and unambiguous message must be conveyed to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed about the dire consequences of not living up to its legal responsibility towards the refugees and asylum seekers. This cannot be achieved in isolation of the quest for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. And peaceful resolution of the Ethiopian conflict is unlikely to happen so long as President Isaias Afwerki is determined to wreck vengeance on the TPLF, and as long as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed entreats him to do so and actively entertains his regional ambitions. The international community has to tell President Isaias in no uncertain terms that continued intervention in internal Ethiopian affairs bears grave, direct consequences.

With a Sudanese naval base, Russia may have a ‘key to Africa’

Thursday, 03 December 2020 12:56 Written by Martin Plaut

Date: 03/12/2020Author: Martin Plaut0 Comments

Source: Deutsche Welle

The Kremlin plans to set up a naval base on the Red Sea in Sudan. The
prestige project would expand Russia’s presence in Africa. That could
have global geopolitical implications.

02.12.2020
Roman Goncharenko, Deutsche Welle

Vladimir Putin wants to see Russia establish a naval base abroad for
the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In
mid-November, the president ordered the Defense Ministry to sign an
accord with Sudan. Along with the still-active Cold War-era Tartus
facility in Syria, this would not only be the second Russian naval
base in the Middle East and North Africa — a region that has become
increasingly important for Moscow — but worldwide, apart from a fleet
on the annexed Crimean Peninsula, which Kremlin officials do not
currently consider extraterritorial.

A draft agreement published by Russia only provides for a logistics
and repair base on the Red Sea for the time being; however, the navy
would be allowed to station up to 300 military staff there — enough to
supply four warships, regular- and nuclear-powered. Presumably the
focus is on nuclear-powered submarines rather than ships as Russia’s
fleet only has one operational nuclear-powered battle cruiser, the
Pyotr Veliki (Russian for Peter the Great). A second battle cruiser is
currently being modernized.

Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, the former chief of staff for the navy,
told the Interfax news agency that the fight against pirates around
the Horn of Africa justified Russia’s establishing a base for
logistics and repair. “It is a tense region,” Kravchenko said. “A
Russian naval presence there is necessary,” he added, hinting that the
facility could one day be developed into a fully fledged base.

Cultivating the image of a world power also plays a role, observers
say. “Russia defines itself as a player right on the spot in this
important region of the world,” Rolf Welberts, a former German
ambassador to Sudan who has also served as head of the NATO
Information Office in Moscow, told DW.

The United States, France and China have naval bases in Djibouti on
the Red Sea. According to the media, Russia has also showed an
interest.

Apart from prestige, Russia could conceivably also be after the
extraction of raw materials in Sudan and the power to “cut off trade
routes in case of conflict with the West,” Alexander Golz, a Russian
military journalist, told DW.

The Soviet Union had outposts in Ethiopia and Somalia to counter the
fact that the United States had a naval base on the Indian Ocean.
Today, it seems the Red Sea is important as a region and point of
access to the African continent for Russia.

“The Red Sea has become a geopolitical hot spot,” said Annette Weber
of the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security
Affairs. The war in Yemen, in which several countries in the region —
including Sudan — are involved, was a starting point, she said. “It’s
a fantastic deal for Russia” that has strengthened its influence,
Weber said. The expert described Sudan as “extremely important” in
terms of trade, smuggling and escape routes.

Until a few years ago, Russia and Sudan did not have very close ties.
That changed in 2017, when Russia’s president welcomed his Sudanese
counterpart at the time, Omar al-Bashir, in Sochi.

Russia’s government was sending the message that it was ready to work
with Sudan when other countries would not, said Kholood Khair, a
managing partner at Insight Strategy Partners, a policy think tank
based in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. The country is on the US state
sponsors of terrorism list, and al-Bashir was indicted by the
International Criminal Court for war crimes in Darfur. Sudan is
currently trying to get itself removed from the list to end years of
isolation.

At the 2017 meeting with Putin, al-Bashir ranted against the United
States, described Sudan as “Russia’s key to Africa” and introduced the
issue of a naval base — supposedly as a protective measure against the
US. Reports followed about Russian companies mining gold in Sudan and
a dubious private military named the Wagner Group that was said to
have advised al-Bashir’s security forces during an uprising in late
2018. Russian officials confirmed a military presence in Sudan, but
denied involvement in breaking up protests.

A common interest

Al-Bashir was toppled in April 2019, and Sudan has since been ruled by
a joint body of civilians and military staff, the Sovereignty Council.
The military is the stronger partner, Khair said. Russia kept its
contacts in Khartoum thanks to Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, more commonly
known in Sudan as Hemeti. The general is the deputy chairman of the
Sovereignty Council and, Khair said, “the most influential man in the
country.”

Khair said Sudan’s gold could be one reason for Russia’s heavy
investment into ties with al-Bashir and now Hemeti. He added that
there have been reports of Russian soldiers and private security
companies guarding the gold mines in the north, to which Hemeti is
also connected. Gold is one of the key sources of income for Sudan,
which has been devastated by sanctions, corruption and inflation.

It is unclear whether Russia sees Sudan as a springboard in the
region. However, military advisers and mercenaries have been seen in
at least two neighboring countries: Libya and the Central African
Republic. That appears to be part of Russia’s strategy of establishing
new ties with Soviet-era allies. The Sovereignty Council sent
emissaries to the first ever Russia-Africa summit in Sochi in October
2019.

UPDATE: Eritrea’s role in the Tigray war and the fate of Eritrean refugees

Thursday, 03 December 2020 12:50 Written by Eritrea Hub

DECEMBER 3, 2020 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS

Through piecing together information from a number of reliable sources the following picture has emerged. It concentrates on the fighting and the fate of nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees who had fled to Tigray and are being cared for by the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR.

It should be read in the context of the background article, which was published yesterday.

Eritrean military abuses.

There have been several reports that Eritrean officers have been ordered to shoot their own wounded troops rather than move them back to Eritrea and treat them in hospitals. This is apparently being done to prevent information about the Eritrean role in the war reaching the wider public. This information comes from different sources.

Refugees from Hitsats camp have been forcibly removed from Tigray and have been seen in the Eritrean town of Adi Quala, where they have been jailed. Many of the senior officers have been removed from the rest of the group. No-one knows whether they are dead or alive.

When Shire was first occupied by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, the Eritrean military was asking Eritrean refugees living there whether they had received training at Sawa. The implication was that those who had been trained might be immediately placed in uniform and armed, to fight at the front.

The Eritrean military is engaged in the looting of Tigrayan assets. This includes cleaning banks of money, and is taking truckloads of goods to Eritrea daily. Yesterday there was a large battle in Faitsi — a village between Zalambesa and Adigrat, on the northern border of Tigray, in the east. The purpose was apparently to clear the main north-south road from Eritrea to Mekelle. This has an obvious military objective, but also facilitates the plundering of Tigrayan goods.

The Tigrayan bakeries in Zalembessa are being ordered to bake bread for Eritrean troops.

Eritrean refugee camps.

As a consequence of abuses such as items A.4 and A.5 above, the Tigrayans may be even angrier at Eritreans than they are at the Ethiopian Federal Forces. In the past Eritrean refugees in UNHCR refugee camps have relied on the goodwill and support of their Tigrayan neighbours. This may have evaporated, leaving the Eritrean refugees who have not been forcibly returned to Eritrea, and Eritreans living in the wider community, at increased risk of retribution from Tigrayans.

Mai Aini may be the camp that is currently greatest risk. Example: Tigrayan forces aligned with the TPLF are reported to have confiscated two private truckloads of produce that were destined for the camp at Mai Aini. Example:A Tigrayan guard shot and killed a young Eritrean man in Mai Aini yesterday (circumstances are unknown).

Military activity is concentrated just outside of Mai Aini. Tigrayan soldiers are trying to reinforce their positions, while Federal forces are converging on them. This could lead to fierce fighting, endangering camp residents. The Mai Aini refugees had been able to buy some supplies from stores in the nearby town of Mai Tsebri, but now they are cut off from that.

Fearing Tigrayan vengeance, many or most of the able-bodied refugees are escaping from at least some of the camps on foot, leaving behind mothers with young children, the elderly, and the disabled. Those on the run are going to Gondar, or seeking security in other villages or towns.

Looting is occurring in some of the camps, including for food. It’s unclear who is doing the looting.

Independent agencies that have worked with the refugees now warn that the status of the camps in Tigray may have to be re-assessed. Given the danger of being engulfed by the fighting and the rising hostility towards Eritreans (possibly including the Eritrean refugees) it’s possibly that the UN should evacuate the refugees from one or more of the camps, rather than trying to protect them there.

Debate in British Parliament on the war in Tigray and the urgent need for aid

Wednesday, 02 December 2020 22:14 Written by Martin Plaut

DECEMBER 2, 2020 MARTIN PLAUT ETHIOPIA, NEWS

Source: Lord Alton

War In Tigray: Peers today pressed for access to be given to Tigray to assess allegations of War Crimes and to ensure the safe arrival of urgently needed humanitarian aid and the protection of refugees.

Dec 2, 2020 | Featured parliamentary activity

Question12.41pm

Asked byLord Alton of Liverpool

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement by the government of Ethiopia on 30 November that military operations in the northern Tigray region are complete, what assessment they have made of the situation in that region; and what access they have (1) requested, and (2) been granted, to the region to establish (a) humanitarian needs, and (b) any evidence of war crimes.Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare my interest as the vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eritrea.The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)

My Lords, an initial Tigray humanitarian preparedness plan has been prepared by the United Nations. A comprehensive assessment of the humanitarian needs across Tigray has not yet been possible. We are encouraged that an assessment mission co-ordinated by the UN is scheduled to commence later this week, and this follows efforts by the UK and others to press for implementation of the assessment. We have also contributed to the UN guiding principles presented to the Government of Ethiopia on humanitarian access, with a view to the delivery of assistance for civilians.

Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Can I press him further on the issue of the humanitarian corridor? Will this conform to United Nations principles of neutrality, and will access be granted to our diplomats to visit Tigray? Secondly, how do we intend to hold to account those who have been responsible for the torture of refugees, the forced return of refugees and some pretty barbaric acts which have been carried out against some of those who have escaped from Tigray?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

My Lords, on the noble Lord’s second point, of course the situation at the moment does not allow for a full assessment. But let me assure him of this: we will certainly continue to press that any perpetrators of such acts are brought to justice. On his point about humanitarian corridors, we are liaising closely with the UN humanitarian organisations to establish what, if any, additional support is needed to press for diplomatic channels in particular—which we have been doing—to allow for the principles that he has articulated. It is integral to the principles laid down by OCHA, which the UK supported the development of.

Lord Hain (Lab) [V]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that there is a real prospect of the Ethiopian conflict getting right out of control, especially given the Horn of Africa’s strategic importance, with Gulf countries, China, the US and others jockeying for influence, or even becoming a Libyan nightmare of war crimes, war lords and ethnic cleansing? Can the Government redouble efforts to broker negotiations through the United Nations, the African Union and the EU?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

My Lords, first let me assure the noble Lord that I share his concern, when we see the challenges faced in neighbouring countries, about the importance of containing this and seeking a peaceful settlement. On the channels he has mentioned, my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary discussed co-ordination with our EU partners on 23 November, and we are in discussions with key African partners, including Uganda, Somalia, Kenya and, importantly, South Africa. At the UN, we also participated in the Security Council debate on 24 November.

Baroness Northover (LD)

My Lords, given the risk to stability in the region, does the Minister agree with former US ambassador Carson when he said yesterday that the battle cannot be won militarily, and that it is vital that neighbours do not become embroiled through the use of their bases or airspace? Could he spell out which EU countries the United Kingdom is working with to secure these aims via the UN?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

On the noble Baroness’s two questions, I can say yes and yes. We are working specifically with the likes of Germany and France in this respect, which also have important equities in that area.

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)

My Lords, all too often, women and children are the greatest victims of conflict. The UK is leading the way in the implementation of UN Resolution 1325, which recognises the importance of women’s involvement in peacekeeping. I visited and saw first-hand the UK contribution to the Peace Support Training Centre in Addis but, in light of recent events, is now the time to increase our commitment to that centre?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

My noble friend speaks with some insight and, of course, great expertise. I share his view that one of the real successes has been the women, peace and security programme run by the Ministry of Defence and the FCDO. On his specific question on whether we increase capacity, obviously the situation at the moment is very fluid on the ground, but he makes a very important suggestion, which I will certainly take back and update him on accordingly.

Baroness Cox (CB) [V]

My Lords, what assessment have Her Majesty’s Government made of the Ethiopian premier’s assertion in Parliament on 30 November that his forces “have not killed a single civilian” during the conflict in the Tigray region? That followed a statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross on 29 November that Ayder Referral Hospital in the Tigrayan capital was “running dangerously low” on stocks and body bags due to an influx of wounded people, and that 80% of them had suffered unspecified trauma injuries. What can be done to help the supply of medical equipment much needed for that hospital?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

My Lords, I assure the noble Baroness that I have been speaking directly to UN agencies, as have other colleagues within the FCDO. I share the important point she raised right at the end of her question, and we are pressing for unfettered humanitarian access. The number of fatalities is unclear, but there is clearly also a high level of internally displaced people. I assure her that we are using all good offices and lobbying directly with the country, as my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has done, to ensure unfettered humanitarian access to the region.

Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)

Picking up the last point the Minister mentioned, on the number of internally displaced people, has there been an assessment of how many there are? Have conversations taken place with the Governments of Sudan and Eritrea over the support that could be given to refugees at the border as well?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

My Lords, on the noble Lord’s second point, the short answer is yes. We have raised it on a bilateral basis, as have international agencies. One figure I can share with him is that we now estimate that more than 45,449 people have fled Ethiopia for neighbouring Sudan—that is the latest figure I have. That is an example of the figures we have been able to make an assessment on.

Baroness Barker (LD)

My Lords, given that this is, in essence, a political and economic conflict, and given also that the Chinese Government are the biggest economic investor in Ethiopia, are Her Majesty’s Government working with the Chinese Government to see what influence they can bring to bear to calm matters and to bring about a potential negotiation between Ethiopia and Eritrea?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

The noble Baroness makes an important point. We too are one of the leading international donors to the country, and I assure her that we are using, in particular, our discussions at the UN in pursuit of that aim.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]

Prior to the conflict, Tigray was a safe haven for Eritrean refugees afraid to return home because of fear of persecution. With Eritrea’s rumoured involvement in the conflict against the TPLF, what assessment have Her Majesty’s Government made of the validity of claims that the Eritrean military are forcing refugees into trucks and abducting them back to Eritrea?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

The right reverend Prelate is right to raise those concerns. This too is part of the conversations that my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has had with the Eritrean Government. They, of course, refute any such programmes or policy, but we continue to raise our concerns directly with them.

Lord Robathan (Con)

My Lords, I first visited Ethiopia with the Commons International Development Committee. We had a long meeting with Meles Zenawi, who was very impressive, and was often described as Tony Blair’s favourite African dictator. He, of course, has been gone for many years. However, when I visited last year, although there was greater prosperity there was still grinding poverty. Can my noble friend assure me that henceforth, when we pour in billions and billions of pounds in aid, as we have done in Ethiopia, for humanitarian reasons and for education and health, we will also look at what is happening to the defence budgets of such countries? I am afraid that what has been happening is fungibility. We have been giving aid for education and health—they have been spending money on arms.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

My noble friend raises an important point about transparency in development spending. That is why the new structure at the FCDO will pursue that very point, ensuring that development support is intended for those who are suffering, and gets directly to them.

Lord Harries of Pentregarth (CB) [V]

In answer to the question asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, the Minister said that the Government were in touch with France and Germany. Are the Government in touch with any power in the region itself that might be an influence for good, and what response have they had from the African Union about the role that it might play?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

Let me assure the noble and right reverend Lord that yes, we are in touch with some of the countries I have already listed, such as Kenya, Uganda, Somalia and South Africa. We are dealing with those countries in the region at the most senior levels of government.

Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]

My Lords, may I ask the Minister about local women being asked to be at the peace table, on both sides, from now on? It is only with local women at the peace table that we will get real peace.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)

I totally agree with the noble Baroness. The United Kingdom has been at the forefront of involving women peace mediators. Indeed, we have launched several initiatives, and I agree that when women are involved in bringing about peace and sustaining it, peace agreements last much longer. The evidence is there for all to see.

The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)

My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked, and that brings Question Time to an end.12.52pm

Sitting suspended.

==========================

Following up today’s Oral Question in the House the following Written Questions have been tabled to the government:

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ask the Ethiopian Government to establish a humanitarian corridor into Tigray; press for it to conform to the neutrality principles laid down by UNOCHA so that it is not supervised by the Ethiopian government in a way that would compromise the neutrality of the operation; and seek access for UK diplomats to all affected areas, including those now under Tigrayan control, to collect evidence of War Crime and Crimes against Humanity?

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the consideration being given by the EU in considering in withholding aid to the Ethiopian until the impact of the conflict on human rights in Tigray can be assessed; how much UK aid was given to Ethiopia last year and over the past decade; in what ways UK funding is being used to insist on an end to conflict in Tigray including urging the Ethiopian government to accept the role of the African Union former presidents who were mandated to mediate to end this conflict.

https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/eu-may-suspend-budget-funding-to-ethiopia-over-tigray-conflict

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment it has made of independent reports from the UN refugee camps in Tigray of the forcible refoulment of thousands of Eritrean refugees to their former homeland; whether they believes such returned refugees will face torture and imprisonment; if it has raised this with the Eritrean government the halting of this violation of the UNHCR’s mandate to protect the refugees in its care; and, if so, what response it has received.

Tigray: A message received today from an Eritrean refugee in Adi Harush camp

Tuesday, 01 December 2020 20:17 Written by Eritrea Hub

DECEMBER 1, 2020 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS

The conditions are really discouraging and awful.

We haven’t got any kind of supplies. People are terribly disturbed.

Between 60 and 80 people are leaving the camp every day, in the hope of finding somewhere safer.

This morning alone 9 youths and 7 people from two families left near me.

The Amara militia are searching for the TPLF militia who hid in the area of the camp.

Last night they broke into the UNHCR office to search for hidden weapons and soldiers. Today they broke into the building at which our rations are stored.

The environment in the camp doesn’t feel safe.

Interview on the Tigray conflict:„No chance for compromise“

Tuesday, 01 December 2020 12:01 Written by taz.de

How did Ethiopia slide from optimism to war? Tsedale Lemma, editor of the Addis Standard, dissects how Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed lost track.

Tsedale Lemma is one of Ethiopia's foremost journalistsFoto: Benjamin Breitegger

This is the English original of the interview with Tsedale Lemma published in German in the TAZ print edition of Monday 30 November 2020. For the shorter German version, click here.

taz: Ms. Lemma, phone and internet connections to Tigray are cut off. What do you know about what’s happening in Tigray?

Tsedale Lemma: Most reports are coming from rights organizations, humanitarian agencies and journalists from international media who are reporting from Sudan where more than 43,000 refugees from Tigray region are sheltering. Going by these reports, the situation is grim; the massacre in Mai-Kadra has claimed the lives of more than 600 civilians and there are two sides of stories on who perpetrated the crime. Communication in Tigray region remained cut off.

How did we get to this point? When Abiy came to power in April 2018 there was lots of optimism and happiness. The term “Abiymania“ was coined.

It was true; even us critical journalists were happy and showed optimism to a certain extent; but at the same time, we were also expressing reservations at the early signs of a turn toward a one-man authoritarianism.

You said you were cautiously optimistic when Abiy came to power. When did that change?

That only lasted the first few months. Then the critics started getting louder that the reform was losing its track. There is no roadmap to it. Abiy kept on downplaying calls for a roadmap, for calls for negotiation, settlement, compromise with all the opposition. He opened the space, the political space, but there was no rule of law. And he never had any serious conversation with the opposition and we kept calling and calling, we need to talk out even as to how the election was going to take place in this tense atmosphere, because the political space, which has been held so tight for twenty seven years, is suddenly unleashed, and you need to have order in it. That is when millions of Ethiopians started realizing that he's really going the wrong direction. He did more to beautify Addis Abeba and build public parks than tackling some of the most pressing issues for example security.

In 2019 t he Nobel Committee gave him the Nobel Peace Prize for a peace deal with Eritrea, a country Ethiopia had been in war with for two decades.

We never knew what was included in those peace agreements. We mentioned that the people of Ethiopia need to know and that the deal should be institutionalized. But that was never acted upon. The Ethiopian parliament for example never approved anything. Abiy also bypassed the foreign ministry, which normally should have been front and center of the peace deal with a foreign country. It was just personal relationship between Abiy and the Eritrea president. Us local critical journalists we were mentioning those things. We were not as blinded as Oslo.

When Abiy came to power he aimed for a more centralized state and promised unity. Was that naive?

Yes. There is Ethiopia’s multinational constitution and there is Abiy’s book “Medemer“; if you read his book you will find out that it is the antithesis of Ethiopia’s multinational federalism. There is a raging war of vision on what kind of Ethiopia we want to build. The prime minister kept on saying he's determined to the multinational federation. But what keeps happening is his vision of state building which is tilted against his rhetoric. What happened in the last two years is that there is no autonomous region whose president is not assigned one way or another by the prime minister. Except for Tigray, each and every region has its presidents maneuvered and assigned by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. I want you to imagine Angela Merkel calling the Bavarian president to her office and telling him you're going to have to make your cabinet resign overnight. Abiy Ahmed did that and it is a sign that he is in favour of a much centralized government the kind of which he has unhinged power of influence and that runs contrary to the way in which the Ethiopian state was last reconstituted after the 1995 constitution was adopted.

Ethiopia had one ruling party coalition, the EPRDF, ruling for three decades and winning with over 90-something percent. Tigrayans had huge influence although they make up only six percent of the population. Abiy in 2019 founded a new ruling party, the Prosperity Party (PP) that the TPLF has never joined. Was his aim not to create a fairer representation?

You need to understand one thing: The EPRDF was detested, it was rotten from deep inside. It was replete with cronyism, corruption, authoritarianism and cruelty. As such, there was that need of undoing that party, distancing himself from the legacy of the EPRDF. And so Abiy wanted to dismantle it. That is understandable to a certain extent but it was deeply problematic.

The problem being?

The problem is that the EPRDF itself, before Abiy Ahmed came, in December of 2017, had a closed session. The presidents of all the four major parties that make up the EPRDF sat down for 17 days and did a soul-search and they came up with a list of things they needed to change in order to redeem the party. There were major changes if they were followed through. These changes included releasing prisoners; democratizing the politics; reforming the judiciary; opening up the political space and reform the security and all. Abiy Ahmed was placed in power to conduct those reform agendas and lead the country to a democratic election but instead he opted to conduct an abrupt and disorderly break up of an authoritarian party that ruled the country with an iron fist.

What did he cause by dismantling the party?

In the process he disfigured the only political arrangement that the country had for 27 years. Deeply entrenched, it takes really a very careful unraveling of this party, but what he did was like hitting it with a brute force. That of course led the party itself to get so fractured, so fragmented, it led Abiy to lose his own closest ally, Lemma Megersa, the president of the Oromia region, for example, a man who was so instrumental in bringing Abiy himself to power, but someone who, as we speak, is placed under house arrest.

What was Abiy’s aim by founding the PP?

His overwhelming driving force is power consolidation. The PP is a structure to make it possible for few people to control ultimate power at the center. It is unfortunate because the Ethiopian people fought so hard against the consolidation and domination of power among the few elites only to have it replaced by some elites from the Oromo, Abiy’s own ethnic group. You have to be careful not to mistake the Oromo people with the few Oromo elite consolidating power. The Oromo people are still waiting to get answers for their questions for jobs, for the right to self-administration, the right of their language to become the federal working language which are not answered so far.

The PP, however, aimed for a fairer representation, didn’t it?

Of course, formerly marginalized regional states, for example, the Somali regional state, could come to the center. The Somali regional state’s president today sits in the executive of the new party, which was never the case before. That was a good development, but it ended there and the party structure was never completed. The party itself never had its founding conference. There is no executive decision that is collectively taken by the party so far. All the decisions that were taken after the Prosperity Party was formed came from Abiy’s office. So they were just being the symbolic cheerleaders.

The TPLF did not join the PP. How much backing does the TPLF have among ordinary Tigrayans?

If you had asked me this question two and a half years ago when the prime minister came into power, I would tell you it was a dwindling support that they had. The Tigrayan people were growing unhappy about the way the TPLF dominated government of the then EPRDF coalition led the federal federal and regional (governments. The government was turning into a sheer authoritarian regime and Tigrayans, along with the rest of Ethiopians, were expressing their displeasure with their own party.

That changed?

It changed when Abiy Ahmed came into power and began to sideline and prosecute TPLF officials from his circle, to press criminal and corruption investigations. Others who have been equally, if not more, criminals than the TPLF, were largely left untouched. The TPLF leaders became the target of a crusade against corruption, and against human rights violations. The TPLF leadership said they were being profiled and pushed, and that they were being becoming the scapegoat for all the ills in the country. So they left the center and stationed themselves in Mekelle, the Tigray region capital which has contributed to bring them close to the people of Tigray and continued to widen the political rift with Abiy and his government.

How did the relationship between Abiy and TP L F turn so sour?

The cascade of events that have played a role in widening the rift between Abiy and the TPLF leadership are plenty. At time one is more belligerent than the other; at time both seem determined to not give compromise a chance. But once most of the TPLF leadership were purged from the center the difference was not only a distance of the politics, it was also a physical distance. And then, of course, there were the rhetoric, you know, the media and the war of words and the exchange of these very tough accusations, one after the other; these were all contributing to the toxicity of the political environment between the federal government and the regional government. And that was, of course, going south every day, every month. The major turn of this deteriorating relationship came when Abiy dismantled the EPRDF and formed the PP which TPLF rejected joining. This was followed by another major difference when the federal government postponed the much anticipated general elections due to COVID-19. The relationship after that became irreversible when TPLF unilaterally conducted its regional election in September.

There are now reports of ethnic Tigrayians targeted elsewhere.

Yes, there is enough evidence of both state sanctioned and a horizontal ethnic profiling of Tigrayans especially in the last three weeks, not just targeting of TPLF. It added toxic to the very bad situation. There are verified reports of concerted efforts targeting ethnic Tigrayans, which is institutionalized and sanctioned by the state. We receive a lot of complaints from native Tigrayans in the capital Addis and elsewhere about incidents when the police show up in the night to search their houses without warrant papers. There are also reports of bank accounts being frozen for no apparent reason. This is despicable and very sad.

What’s left of the peace deal with Eritrea, what is the situation like today?

Right now, the area is a war zone. But until this war broke out – which the government prefers to call “law and order operation“–the border was still militarized. What we know is that all the five gates in the border between the two countries were closed a few months into the peace deal. Not so much by the Tigrayan side, but by the Eritrean government.

Is the Eritrean government involved in the current conflict?

Asmara and Addis Ababa deny it. But Ethiopians who have fled to Sudan say that bombardment was coming from the Eritrean side as well, and that there are Eritrean troops on the ground supporting the federal government. The regional government itself is reporting drone attacks, which is most likely because the UAE has a military base in Assab in Eritrea from which it launches the drone attacks against the Huthi rebels in Yemen. And it's very likely that the UAE is engaged in drone attacks against the TPLF. The TPLF has also attacked Eritrea with rockets, saying it was in response to Eritrea’s involvement.

Now the war has been going on for over three weeks. What needs to happen?

An immediate cessation of hostilities, because every passing day is complicating this conflict, opening up the Pandora's Box for regional rivalries. News of the UAE and its use of drones, if confirmed, is bad signal for regional rivalries; Sudan, which is bordering the Tigray regional state, has a state replete with mercenaries and many government people who walk around with guns, with leverage that goes beyond the Sudanese border. So every passing day is going to complicate the regional dynamics of this war, but also it's making Ethiopia itself very vulnerable internally. The social fabric is being ripped apart; polarization is at a scale never seen before and repression is rearing its ugly heads once again because that is what war does to a society.

How so?

We are receiving reports of massacres and an increased armed movements in other parts of the country such as the southern region and western regions that are not receiving media coverage.That means the federal army who are now being moved north have left a security vacuum in these places. Conflicts are flaring up with more intensity now than they already were. If this continues unabated it will unravel the federation. This war has to stop now, and cessation of hostilities must be implemented immediately. before the right to life of thousand more Ethiopians is lost unnecessarily.

BREAKING: Eritrean Refugees in UNHCR camp in Tigray being forcibly returned to Eritrea

Tuesday, 01 December 2020 11:58 Written by Eritrea Hub

NOVEMBER 30, 2020 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS

The following has been learned via a reliable source, but there is no further information at present.

UNHCR are checking the news, but can not presently comment on the information.

“The Eritrean military is in control of Shimelba camp and is preparing to send large numbers of its residents to Eritrea for punishment.

They have destroyed all UNHCR records, and have seized all medicines.

Some of the residents have escaped to Humera camp.”

The United Nations refugee chief Filippo Grandi said on Sunday that he is very concerned about the fate of nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees there amid reports that some have been abducted.

If confirmed, such treatment of refugees in camps close to the Tigray border with Eritrea “would be major violations of international norms,” Filippo Grandi told reporters.

“It is my strong appeal for the prime minister of Ethiopia for this situation to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”

USA tells PM Abiy – end Tigray fighting and open dialogue; concern for refugees and civilians

Tuesday, 01 December 2020 11:56 Written by Eritrea Hub

NOVEMBER 30, 2020 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS

Source: US State Department

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed today regarding the conflict in Tigray.

Secretary Pompeo took note of the Government of Ethiopia’s November 28 announcement of the end of major military operations, but reiterated the United States’ grave concern regarding ongoing hostilities and the risks the conflict poses.

The Secretary called for a complete end to the fighting and constructive dialogue to resolve the crisis.

He stressed the willingness of the United States, the African Union envoys and other international partners to assist in dialogue and reconciliation.

The Secretary underscored the importance of protecting civilians from further harm, including refugees and civilians fleeing the conflict into Sudan, and allowing international humanitarian organizations access to the Tigray region to ensure the unhindered flow of humanitarian assistance to those in need.

He urged the Government of Ethiopia to ensure respect for human rights of Tigrayans and all ethnic groups.

Secretary Pompeo highlighted the United States’ strong partnership with Ethiopia, our continued support for Ethiopia’s historic reform agenda, and the importance of Ethiopia’s role in promoting prosperity and stability on the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia's PM savours victory, Tigrayan leader says war not finished

Monday, 30 November 2020 22:51 Written by By Reuters Staff

ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed lauded his troops on Monday for ousting a rebellious northern movement, but the leader of Tigrayan forces said they were still resisting amid fears of a protracted guerrilla conflict.

The nearly month-long war has killed hundreds and probably thousands of people, sent refugees into Sudan, enmeshed Eritrea, and stirred rivalries among Ethiopia’s myriad ethnic groups.

Federal forces captured regional capital Mekelle at the weekend and declared victory over the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a guerrilla movement-turned-political party that dominated national government for nearly three decades until 2018.

“Our constitution was attacked but it didn’t take us three years, it took us three weeks,” Abiy told parliament, comparing his offensive with the American Civil War of the 1860s.

“Our army is disciplined and victorious.”

Though the TPLF said Mekelle had been bombarded, Abiy said his troops had not used rockets and had not killed a single civilian in Tigray since starting an offensive in response to an attack on an army base on Nov. 4.

Though the highland city of 500,000 people eventually fell with little resistance, the TPLF said on Sunday it had shot down a plane and retaken one town.

The United States expressed concern about continued fighting and called for a complete end to hostilities and for dialogue. Both Washington and the United Nations urged that human rights be fully respected and that aid groups be allowed access.

Graphic: Map of region -

Reuters Graphic

‘FIGHTING THE INVADERS’

“I’m close to Mekelle in Tigray fighting the invaders,” he told Reuters in a text message.

Claims from all sides are difficult to verify as phone and internet links to Tigray have largely been down and access is restricted.

The TPLF has shelled Asmara’s airport and accused Eritrea of sending troops to fight with Abiy’s forces. Both Eritrea and Ethiopia have denied that accusation.

When he took office in 2018, Abiy pledged to unite Ethiopia’s 115 million people, but ethnic bloodshed had killed hundreds and uprooted hundreds of thousands from their homes even before the latest flare-up.

In Tigray, both sides have spoken of hundreds of fatalities in air strikes and fighting. Diplomats believe the toll is in the thousands.

Abiy’s spokeswoman Billene Seyoum dismissed the TPLF’s comments that fighting continued, dismissing them as the delusions of a disintegrating criminal clique”.

Redwan Hussein, head of a government taskforce on Tigray, told Reuters most casualties occurred at the start of the conflict during a TPLF attack on Ethiopian soldiers, attempts by reinforcements to reach them, and then a mass killing of about 700 civilians.

“Our orders were to leave the cities alone, and to encircle them, to cut the forces that were within the towns from their chain of commands,” he added, saying the Republican Guard captured Mekelle without shooting as TPLF conscripts deserted.

The TPLF was not immediately available to comment. On Sunday, the Red Cross said Mekelle’s hospitals were low on supplies and bodybags, but did not give casualty figures.

Graphic: Map of refugee movements -

Reuters Graphic

GUERRILLA WAR?

It is not clear how many fighters the TPLF has left, but Debretsion’s defiance raises the spectre of a drawn-out insurgency. The battle-hardened TPLF helped topple Ethiopia’s Marxist dictatorship in 1991 and knows how to exploit its mountains and borders with Sudan and Eritrea.

Abiy, whose parents are from the larger Oromo and Amharic groups, said he had felt Ethiopia’s ethnic frictions even when taking office as prime minister, where he felt like a “prisoner.” He said security services dominated by Tigrayans discouraged him from travelling round Ethiopia.

There are more than 80 ethnicities in Ethiopia, which operates as a federation of 10 regions run by separate groups.

Abiy said he had directed reforms to reduce Tigrayans in senior military positions from more than 60% to a quarter of the top brass. Tigrayans make up roughly 6% of the population.

Though urging the more than 45,000 refugees in Sudan to return, Abiy said it was suspicious so many of them were young males and if any had a role in an alleged massacre of non-Tigrayans in Mai Kadra they should face justice.

The government blamed the killings on a Tigrayan youth group with the aid of local forces, but the TPLF denied any collusion.

INTERNATIONAL CONCERN

Despite the government’s claim of victory, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced grave concern about the hostilities. In a telephone call with Abiy, Pompeo called for dialogue and a complete end to the fighting, a State Department spokesman said.

He stressed the importance of protecting civilians, including refugees fleeing into Sudan, and giving international humanitarian organizations access to Tigray, the State Department said.

He urged the government to respect the human rights of Tigrayans and all ethnic groups.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with Abiy on Sunday and called for full respect for human rights and access for humanitarian aid, a U.N. spokesman said.

“The Secretary General also said that Ethiopia needed a true reconciliation, without discrimination...where every community should feel respected and be part of Ethiopia,” he said.

Reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom, and Duncan Miriri and David Lewis in Nairobi, Arshad Mohammed and Tim Ahmann in Washington, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations, Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Angus MacSwan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source=Ethiopia's PM savours victory, Tigrayan leader says war not finished | Reuters